Railway brake gear support



a 1944. H. M. VAN SWERI GEN 2,356,018

RAILWAY BRAKE GEAR SUPPORT Filed June 5, 1942 INVENTOR$ HARRY M VAN SWERINGEN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1944 UNITED STATES J PATENT OFFICE 2,356,018;

RAILWAY BRAKE GEAR SUPPORT Harry M. Van S weringen, Chicago, Ill., assignorto Chicago Railway Equipment Company, Chi.-

cago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 5, 1942,v Serial No. 445,891

6 Claims.

The invention relates to the support of railway brake gear, and more particularly to the provision of a safety device associated with the bolster of a railway truck to prevent the falling of the brake beam, and parts carried thereby, to the rail in the event of failure of the usual hanger which normally supports the beam.

Many devices have been proposed and used for this. purpose, and one form of such device comprises a flexible member secured at its ends to the beams at opposite sides of the bolster and between its ends extending over the bolster as illustrated, for example, in Figure 3-01. H. E. Anderson Patent 2,159,582, issued May 23, 1939. The effectiveness of. such a device is dependent upon the distance between the top of the bolster and the portion of the device extending over the bolster, and this distance willvary according to the set taken by the bolster springs and also by the amount of wear of the brake beam hangers, pins and heads. When new trucks are equipped with this type of support, the above-mentioned conditions may be compensated. for more readily than where supports of this type are ordered for application to old truckswhich will vary substantially in the critical dimensions- One object of the present invention is to facilitate the maintenance of the. effective height of. the. support which, in the preferred form of the invention, means the maintenance of the desired clearance between the top of the bolster and the portion of the support above. the bolster.

Since the device of the class described is ordinarily carried by the beams and extends upwardly therefrom with its upper end being unsupported, there is a tendency for the upper end to swing transversely of the truck, thereby bending the lower ends back and forth at their points of support and tendingto weaken the connected elements, and it. is a further object of the present invention to prevent this action and the resulting tendency.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the safety support to hold the beam against tilting about its longitudinal axis and to resist such tilting without flexing the support at the point of its attachment to the beam.

These and other detail. objects of the invention as will appear below are attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a section through the bolster of a four-wheeled truck taken longitudinally of the truck and showing the associated wheels, brake heads and hangers normally supporting the latter and the safety support which comprises the particularly novel feature of the present invention.

Figures 2 and 4 are detail vertical sections taken on the corresponding. section lines of Figure 1..

Figures 3 and 5 are detail horizontal sections taken on the corresponding. section lines of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a view in section corresponding to one side of Figure 1 but illustrating another form. of the invention.

Figure '7 is. a substantially vertical section taken on the. corresponding section line of Figure 6.

Figure. 8 is a detail section of one corner of a bolster with another form of support mounted thereon.

The structure shown in Figure 1 comprises the usual wheels I, holster 2 and truss type brake beams, each comprising. a compression member 3, a tension rod 4, a strut. (not shown). and brake heads 5 which carry the renewable shoes 6. which engage the wheels when the brakes are applied. Normally the beams are pivotally supported by hangers 1- swinging from pins 8 seated in brackets 9 on. the truck frame F on which the bolster is carried by springs S.

The safety support, which may also function as a guide in the-normal support of. the beams by hangers 1, comprises an inverted U-shaped member ID with its base extending over the bolster and having the lower ends. of its legs secured-to the respective. beams. Member Hi may be a cable or a chain and possesses sufficient flexibility to readily accommodate. movement of the brake beams to and from the wheels as. the brakes are. applied and released, which movement may reach a maximum of from 2" to 2 by each brake beam between the slack. position of the beam equipped with new shoes and the applied position of the beam when the shoes are worn.

To prevent flexing of the intermediate portion of member ID, the same is provided with a substantially rigid pipe I t or other stiffening means. Preferably U-shaped clips l2 secured to the bolster form guides for pipe H and prevent its swaying back and forth transversely of the truck, and thereby avoid flexing of the lower ends of member H] where they are connected to the beams.

The left hand end of member ID is shown secured to the beam by a bracket l3, a block [4 and a U-bolt l5. Bracket l3 extends over tension rod 4 and under compression member 3, having a U-shaped portion to receive the latter. U- bolt I5 passes under tension rod 4 and through the adjacent portion of bracket I3 and through block [4, the assembly being maintained by nuts l6. One or more shims I1 and [8 may be inserted, as indicated, to vary the height of block [4 and the angular disposition of bracket I3. Member I0 is assembled with block M by upsetting 60 its end.

block 2| is adjustably positioned in bracket por-"Y tion by a pin 22 inserted through a selected one of the openings 23 in spaced flanges 24 depending from the block. Bracket'lilmay be provided with shims as at H and I8.

10 The securing devices at the ends of member l0 provide for individual adjustment of the height of each beam. The entire support, and both beams, may beadjusted by the device at the top of the bolster which comprises a bar 25 slidable vertically between the flattened sides 26 of pipe I l and held in adjusted position by a cot-'- ter 2! inserted through a selected one of the openings 28 in the bar, the upper portion of the bar having an annulus 29 or other suitable seat for the intermediate portion of the base of member 10.

A structure as described above provides for the use of a substantially flexible safety support for the beams and extending over the bolster and adjustable intermediate its ends to vary the relative heights of the bolster and brake beams above the rail. Or it may be adjusted at its connection to each beam for the same general purpose, the latter-mentioned adjustment beingparticularly desirable if the beam hangers support the two beams at different heights. The structure also provides for varying the inclination of the beams to the horizontal to prevent dragging of ends of the brake shoes on the wheels when the brakes are released. The structure will avoid undesirable flexing of the main supporting member l0 because of the play of the device transversely of the truck or because of the tilting of thebeamson their hangers or the swinging of the hangers'from their supports.

' Figure fi'illustrates another arrangement for securing some of these advantages and cornprises abracket 30 secured to the side wall of thebolster 3|, a bracket 32 secured to the compression member '33 and the tension rod 34 of the beam, and a flexible support member 35 with its upper end adjustably secured to bracket 30 by a pin.36v inserted through a selected one of the holes 31 in the bracket, the lower end of member 35 having its end upset in a disc 38 piv oted by a pin 39 betweenup'standing ears 4% on bracket 32. This construction provides for the pivoting of member 35 at both ends'and avoids any undesirable flexing of memberfiiwhere it is connected to the beam and to the bolster.

Figur 8 illustrates another arrangement in which the support member 4! corresponds to that shown in Figure 6 and may be similarly connected to the beam (not shown). The connection to the bolster 42 is by means of a bracket 43 having a vertically disposed threaded shank extending through a bracket 44 on the bolster and adjustably held at a desired height by a nut 45 and lock nut 46.

It will be understood that one or more of the features shown in Figure 1 may be used without necessarily including allof the features al-. though, if desired, all of the features may be used together and may cooperate to obtain the maximum adjustment and stability of the support. The details of the adjustment and stabilizing features of the support ma be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention,

brakebeam, an elongated flexible member having means .at one end for connecting it to the brake beam and having means spaced from said end for coacting with a truck bolster to carry the member in the event of failure of the normal support'for the beam, the means for connecting the member to the beam comprising a bracket arranged to extend between the compression and .tension members of the beam and having an intermediate portion through which the end of the flexible member is slidable, there being pin and aperture elements in said member end and bracket portion for holding them in a selected one of desired assembly relations to vary the effective length of the support.

2. A safety support for railway truck brake beams comprising an inverted U-shaped member with its base arranged to overlie a truck bolster and with beam engaging parts at the ends of its legs, there being a device near the middle of said base for simultaneously adjusting the effective length of the member legs.

3. Ina safety support for a railway brake beam, an elongated flexible member of inverted U shape with means at its ends for attachment to respective brake beams, a rigid structure receiving the portion of said flexible member constituting the base of its U-shape, opposite sides of said structure having aligned openings, a portion of said member forming a loop projecting through one of said openings, ,a bar slidable through said openings and having a part projecting from the structure and engaging said loop and having a part adjustably secured to said structure to vary the effective length of the portions of the flexible member extending beyond the ends of said structure.

4. In a safety support for a railway truck truss type brake beam, a bracket with portions arranged for attachment respectively to the compression member and the tension member of the brake beam, and an elongated member connected to said bracket for suspending it to a truck part, there being means for varying the inclination of said member and bracket, and the corresponding portions of the brake beam to which the latter is applied, to control the tilting of the beam as the brake is applied to the truck wheels.

5. A safety support for railway truck brake beams comprising an inverted U-shaped member with its base arranged to overlie a truck bolster and with a bracket extending transversely of the lower portion of each of its legs for connection at its ends to the compression and tension members respectively of the beam, there being means for adjusting the relation between each end of the bracket and the associated beam part to vary the inclination of the beam relative to the legs of the support.

6. A safety support for railway truck brake beams comprising a flexible member of inverted U-shape with its base arranged to overlie a truck bolster and with beam-engaging devices at the ends of its leg,-a rigid structure associated with the base portion of said flexible member and provided with means for varying the length of the flexible member contained in said base portion.

H. M. VAN SWERINGEN. 

